Summary

For years, U.S. forecasters have envied their colleagues at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, U.K., whose hurricane prediction models remain the gold standard. But two innovations tested during Hurricane Harvey, one from NASA and another from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, could help level the playing field. The storm provided the first high-profile test for the next-generation weather model developed for the National Weather Service, which can zoom in on storms. And Harvey will help calibrate the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, a NASA array of eight microsatellites that aim to detect the maximum wind speed of storms through their veil of moisture.